Tormented Kitchen

If you like sweet potatoes, I think you will love this. Mom's way of making these has been one of my favorites for ages. Honestly, I like it this way much better than the marshmallow way. If you want to use canned sweet potatoes, I guess go ahead. I have never used them myself. Let me know how they work out. If  you're wondering what the difference is between sweet potatoes and yams, in the US, the difference is moot. True yams are not available here. We have all sweet potatoes with different skin and flesh colors. I found some very cool reading on this from TAMU. Other cool things about food are available on Food Timeline. Ingredients 2 sweet potatoes 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar 2 Tablespoons brandy 1/3 cup light corn syrup 2 Tablespoons butter, diced 1/3 cup pecan halves (or more or less to your liking) Method 1. Boil whole sweet potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. When done, remove from water and let cool until cool enough to handle. 2. Peel swe...

French toast is one of my favorite things for breakfast. Of course, I love most breakfast foods covered in maple syrup. I learned the basics of French toast from my mom ages and ages ago. Oh wait, that makes me sound old. I'm not old. I'm experienced .  (Ha ha! Just kidding!) Anyhow, as a kid, my mom normally made French toast using white bread, like for sandwiches. Once I moved out on my own, I started using different breads and experimenting with quick-dip or long soak in the egg mixture. I have heard people absolutely rave about "overnight French toast." Ahem. Excuse me. That is not French toast. What you have in that case is actually bread pudding. Yeah. Bread soaked in egg mixture and baked in a pan is bread pudding. Sheesh people. I have held onto the concept that True French Toast must be made from French bread and dipped in eggs. (My husband likes me to use sourdough occasionally. It's good too.) Of course, I have strayed from what is in the eggs, ...

Flan is such a treat!  If you're unfamiliar with flan, you must try this.  It's simply custard with caramel in the bottom of the baking dish. It's smooth, cool, sweet, and beautiful. Now, I've had some bad flan. Let me tell you. There is one very popular Mexican eatery in Downtown Reno that I just don't like. Their flan is very firm, not very sweet, and tastes almost cheesy. Yuck. And then there are times you get flan that is so good, so amazing that it's like your mouth has found paradise. There is one particular person from the church back in my hometown that made pans and pans of amazing flan for church functions.  Amazing isn't even descriptive enough as a word. A lot of the flavor has to do with the caramel.  If your caramel is very dark, your flan will take on a toasty flavor with a bitter nutty, coffee-like aftertaste. I like my caramel a bit lighter, so there are hints of that toastiness, but it's not so noticeable. Those flavors wil...

Here is a recipe with some history I can relate to. Back in the 1920's this dish was created at Caesar Cardini's restaurant after he was running low on food. Someone there started throwing things together and made a tasty salad. I can totally relate to this, and I know I'm not the only one. Sometimes you go home and look in the fridge. Then you look in the pantry. Then you look in the freezer. Finally, you think "Damn. I have all kinds of weird things that don't go together!" So kudos to Mr Cardini and his staff for this. It's a fine example that sometimes you just start tossing things together and see what happens. Thinking back, I believe the first time I ate a Caesar salad I was a "tween", probably 11 or 12. I recall eating at a place in Carson City that has long since closed down. Mom and Dad ate something normal, probably grilled chicken sandwiches. They looked at me funny for ordering a Caesar salad, like "no way will she like th...

This meal has been floating in my mind's eye for a while now. To see it finally come together, it was really a sense of accomplishment. This picture just does not do it justice. The colors were beautiful. The flavors really complimented each other, some sweet, some tangy, some savory. Excellent combination! Back in the early summer, I was on a grilling kick. I think it's a seasonal thing for me.  I wanted a grilled pork chop, but it's easy to go wrong on the grill. Sometimes it's hard to judge how hot to get the grill, how long to let the meat cook, and if you've hit it right or ruined it. The first time I made this, I tried two layers of bacon and basting the chops with apple juice. So it was OK. Just OK. As you know, for me just OK is never good enough. So back to the kitchen and lots of brainstorming and testing. I figured brining was the next logical step. I wanted a warm apple topping. Then, this came together. It was really good. I think I just had to w...

Well, this little gem of a recipe is going to become one of my new Thanksgiving additions. Instead of just regular cranberry jelly, and Cran-Raspberry Mousse , I can add chutney to the table. It was nice to have the sweet, tangy, spicy and nutty flavors all together. This went especially well on top the Acorn Squash . Just saying if you want to avoid adding butter and sugar to your squash, give this a try. It's also really pretty together. The colors were attractive, the soft orange of the squash, the creamy apples, the little red jewel cranberries. To make this, it's super easy. If you have ever cooked apple pie filling before putting it in the pie, this is technically the same. I used three types of apples. Eric helped pick them at the store. He chose one green (Granny Smith), one red (Red Delicious), and one in between (Fuji). Honestly, I liked the combination. Some pieces were tangy, some were really soft and sweet. I think the variety was an unexpected positive thing....

Squash. Probably not the most exciting food out there, but it deserves attention.  You know, Native Americans grew corn, beans, and squash together. The beans climbed the corn stalks, and the squash plants covered the ground. The three together were called the Three Sisters. They were beneficial for the health of each plant and made a sustainable food source. I have grown all three plants before in our garden, but I did not do it that way. Our garden was arranged in rows. The corn didn't do so well. They were infested with earwigs. Half the bean plants just up and died. But the squash plants were great! That year, we discovered we grew awesome onions and tons and tons of potatoes and carrots. This summer, we built new garden boxes following the All New Square Foot Gardening  book my cousin sent me. We didn't get it done in time to grow squash, but we did get a few things in. Next year, I will grow lots of squash, especially acorn squash. They are sort of cute. As a kid...